A Newe Mape of Tartary

Stunning example of John Speed's map of Central Asia and Siberia, or Tartary as it was known at the time. Published in John Speed's A Prospect of the Most Famous Parts of the World, the first world atlas by an Englishman. The borders are decorated with four city views and eight depictions of indigenous men and women in their local costumes.



Included in the four views in the upper margin are the Silk Road trading cities of Astrakhan, Samarkand and Cambalu. The fourth is a view of 'the house of Nova Zemla', a reference to the winter quarters of Dutch explorer Willem Barentsz whose expeditions Speed describes in detail on the map next to Novaya Zemlya.



First edition. English text on the verso describes the Kingdom of Tartary in exquisite detail providing a fascinating contemporary account of a region little-known to Europeans.


English text on verso. Image available on request.

[AS1206]